Fact or fiction? Twitter account channels North Korean rhetoric

Fact or fiction? Twitter account channels North Korean rhetoric

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean media perfected the art of “fake news” long before it became a buzzword in Washington.

So how can you tell the difference between fact and fiction when it comes to the so-called Hermit Kingdom?

Two self-described “jerks from the United States” have put that to the test with a Twitter account called DPRK News Service, fooling many journalists and others who believed the tweets come from the North Koreans.

The site mimics the exaggerated and belligerent tone of North Korea’s official news organizations, which are government mouthpieces, as a form of commentary, or just as a joke.

This is, after all, a country that reportedly banned sarcasm, an idea that became a topic for @DPRK_News.

See if you can tell which of the following statements came from the state-run Korean Central News Agency, famous for its hyperbole, and belligerent rhetoric, and which is from the parody site:

• “Obama should live as a monkey in an African natural zoo licking the breadcrumbs thrown by spectators.”

• “Donald Trump plagued by deep insecurities regarding small size of his tiny crowds. Marshal Kim Jong-un has large and manly crowds.”

The crude racist rant against Obama came from the North’s official press.